The definitive guide
Ways to pay for home care in Alberta
Cost is the first question every family asks and the last thing most providers explain. Here is the honest map: every way Alberta families fund home care, what each path involves, and how they combine, in plain language, with no email address required to read it.
The short answer
Alberta families fund home care through three main paths: private pay, CDHCI (Client-Directed Home Care Invoicing), and Self-Managed Care, usually layered on top of the public Assisted Living Alberta home care program. Most families end up combining two or more. The rest of this guide walks each one, then shows the combinations that work in practice. (Still deciding between home care, a private caregiver, or a facility? Start with the side-by-side comparison.)
1 · Private pay: fastest and most flexible
You choose the provider, the services, and the schedule, and pay directly. No assessment or approval is needed, which is why private pay is how most urgent care starts: it can begin within days. It also covers everything public funding doesn’t: companionship, housekeeping, transportation, overnight peace-of-mind, extra hours on top of funded care.
What to look for from any provider: a published rate, a written care plan, visible invoices that match it, and no long lock-in contracts. Ours work exactly that way: $37.50/hour standard, $39/hour overnight, published on our pricing page along with the three honest ways those numbers come down. See also what a care plan looks like.
Published rates apply within Calgary city limits; outside the boundary, rates are confirmed case by case.
2 · CDHCI: funded hours, without becoming an employer
Client-Directed Home Care Invoicing lets provincially assessed clients choose their own approved agency for personal care, homemaking, and respite, with the agency billing Alberta Blue Cross directly for its share of each approved hour; you pay the balance, employ no one, and simply pick the provider you trust.
The path: an Assisted Living Alberta case manager assesses needs and approves hours; you select a registered provider (we are a CDHCI Type 3 provider); care starts and billing goes straight to Alberta Blue Cross. Full walkthrough on our CDHCI page, or take the one-minute eligibility check first.
3 · Self-Managed Care: maximum control, real responsibility
Under Self-Managed Care, Assisted Living Alberta provides funds directly to the client (or their agent), and you become the employer: hiring caregivers, scheduling, payroll, records, and reporting. For families who want to hire a specific person (often someone already known and trusted), it offers unmatched control. For everyone else, the administration is a serious commitment that arrives exactly when families have the least spare energy.
Honest comparison of CDHCI vs Self-Managed vs private pay (including who runs the paperwork and who employs the caregivers) is in the table on our funding page.
4 · The public layer: Assisted Living Alberta home care
Assisted Living Alberta provides assessed clinical visits (nursing tasks, wound care, case management) at no cost. It is the foundation, and it is also intentionally focused: visits are task-based and scheduled around clinical need, not around a family’s day. That is precisely the gap the other three paths fill. We coordinate with public home-care visits rather than duplicating them.
To start: call Health Link at 811 and ask about a home care assessment, or ask a hospital discharge planner or family physician for a referral.
Type 1, Type 2, Type 3: who actually delivers the care
Alberta’s continuing-care legislation defines three delivery models inside the publicly funded home care program. Type 1 is care delivered directly by Assisted Living Alberta’s own staff. Type 2 is care delivered by a home-care agency that Assisted Living Alberta contracts and assigns — the public program picks the agency and sets the schedule. Type 3 is care delivered by a provider the client selects — this is where CDHCI lives, and it is how Alberta Maple Care serves CDHCI clients.
Two practical consequences. First, if the assessment finds professional health services are needed — nursing visits, wound care — those are delivered through Type 1 or Type 2, never through CDHCI; we coordinate around those visits rather than duplicating them. Second, if you are already receiving publicly funded personal care from a Type 2 agency you didn’t choose, you can ask your case manager about moving those hours to CDHCI and choosing your own provider — the switching path is walked step by step on our CDHCI page.
5 · The paths people miss
Veterans: Veterans Affairs Canada’s Veterans Independence Program (VIP) can fund housekeeping, grounds maintenance, and personal care at home for eligible veterans — worth a call to VAC before assuming anything.
Insurance and benefits: some private or group health plans, and some Alberta Blue Cross individual plans, include home-care or attendant-care benefits. Policies vary enormously. Check yours before paying out of pocket.
Tax relief: eligible attendant-care and medical expenses may qualify for the Medical Expense Tax Credit; the Disability Tax Credit and Canada Caregiver Credit help many care households. This is general information, not tax advice. A tax professional can confirm what applies to your situation, and receipts from a proper provider (clear invoices, plan-matched hours) make claiming far easier.
How families actually combine them
The most common real-world pattern in Calgary: Assisted Living Alberta provides the clinical visits · CDHCI funds approved personal care, homemaking, or respite hours delivered by a provider like us · private pay tops up the hours that make life genuinely manageable. One team, one plan, several funding sources — and it’s our job, not yours, to keep which-hour-comes-from-where straight.
Where to start
- Care needed this week? Start private pay now, pursue funding in parallel: approvals take time and care can’t always wait. See urgent home care.
- Planning ahead? Call 811 for an Assisted Living Alberta assessment and take our CDHCI check. Alberta Blue Cross pays most of each approved hour’s cost, so funded hours you qualify for are hours you shouldn’t pay full price for.
- Not sure what you need at all? The one-minute care check or a free nurse visit sorts the question out properly.
Where we stand with each funder
- Alberta Blue Cross (CDHCI): registered provider — direct billing available today.
- Veterans Independence Program (VIP), the Veterans Affairs Canada home-care program, administered through Medavie Blue Cross: registration in progress.
- WCB Alberta: registration in progress.
- Private & group insurance: in progress. Many plans reimburse home care, and our invoices carry the detail claims need.
- FSCD (Family Support for Children with Disabilities): application planned.
Funder statuses current as of August 2026; call for today’s status before counting on a funder. Program details change and eligibility is individual. Your Assisted Living Alberta case manager is the authority on what applies to you. This guide is general information; we keep it current and honest.
Care that comes home
Not sure where to start?
Book The Alberta Maple Care Assessment — a free, no-obligation nurse visit. We’ll listen, understand your needs, and help you explore the right options.
Not ready to book? Start with a no-pressure conversation instead.